Jeanne Renaud (August 27, 1928 – September 15, 2022) was a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and artistic director, considered to be one of the founders of modern dance in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Renaud studied music at the École de musique Vincent-d'Indy. She trained in classical ballet with Elizabeth Leese and in modern dance with Gérald Crevier in Montreal. She went on to study with

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...

and

Mary Anthony Mary Anthony (11 November 1916, in Newport, Kentucky – 31 May 2014, in Manhattan) was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and dance teacher. Both her work as a dancer and choreographer were highly influenced by Martha Graham and Hanya Holm ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1948, she gave a recital with

Françoise Sullivan Françoise Sullivan LL.D (born 10 June 1923) is a Canadian painter, sculptor, dancer and choreographer. Biography Early life Françoise Sullivan grew up in Montreal, Quebec, the youngest child and only girl in a middle-class family with fo ...

in Montreal. She taught dance in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

from 1949 to 1954. In 1952, she joined with

Les Automatistes Les Automatistes were a group of Québécois artistic dissidents from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The movement was founded in the early 1940s by painter Paul-Émile Borduas. Les Automatistes were so called because they were influenced by Surrea ...

who had left Quebec for

to present a performance at the American Club there. From 1959 to 1965, she was associated with Françoise Riopelle at the École de Danse Moderne de Montréal as dancer, teacher and choreographer. In 1966, she founded

Le Groupe de la Place Royale Le Groupe Dance Lab (formerly Le Groupe de la Place Royale) was a contemporary dance research centre formed in Montreal in 1966 as a dance company. It re-located to Ottawa in 1977 and changed its name and artistic mission in 1988. It closed its door ...

, the first official modern dance company in Quebec, with Peter Boneham; she was dancer, choreographer, artistic director and administrator for Le Groupe until 1972. After leaving Le Groupe, from 1971 to 1975, with Ed Kostiner, she operated Galerie III, a space for contemporary visual art, theatre, music and dance. She next worked for the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

, then the Quebec Ministère des affaires culturelles and then was head of the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec for both Montreal and Quebec City. From 1985 to 1987, she was artistic director with Linda Stearns for

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet. History Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...

. From 1987 to 1989, she taught in the dance department of the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

, retiring in the latter year. She was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier in 1989 and, in 1995, the Governor General's Award for the Performing Arts. In 1998, she was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. Renaud married Jean-Pierre Labrecque around 1948; the couple had a daughter and a son. They separated in the early 1970s. The writer Thérèse Renaud and the artist Louise Renaud were her sisters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaud, Jeanne 1928 births 2022 deaths Canadian choreographers Canadian contemporary dancers Canadian female dancers French Quebecers Members of the Order of Canada Prix Denise-Pelletier winners Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Canadian women choreographers Governor General's Award winners